The Face Behind the Mask
by Lady Spyce
Summary: There was almost nothing that could stop the God of Mischief when he was up to no good, but there was truly nothing in the universe that had been able to stop Loki when he was right about something and went about situations in a less than selfish way. Midgard needed him, wether they wanted to admit it or not. This time he had no plans of being defeated.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, there! I really Hope you like it! This is my first FanFic so reviews are welcome, but nothing too harsh please, I'm fragile... sort of. *.***

Chapter 1 - The Powerful Stowaway

The air, crisp and fresh, blew the trees that night with a sort of feeling as if it knew a secret of great importance. Tony never particularly enjoyed the woods, in fact he would be happy to never leave the city, but business is business. Fury had been crystal clear when he informed Stark of the mission at hand. There had been an abnormal energy count picked up by S.H.I.E.L.D. The fact that the energy count seemed similar to the situation in New Mexico from a few years back didn't sit well with S.H.I.E.L.D. To reach the sight of where the energy readings had been located and to identify the threat was the job Fury had assigned Tony. Given that the last time something like this had happened, several people had died, Stark was sent due to his reputation regarding his Iron Man suit. Fury had seemed slightly reluctant to give the job to Stark because of the rep. Tony had around his judgement, however Tony was the most suitable person for the assignment - no pun intended- therefore the mission was his.

As he sat there at 3 O'clock in the morning in the tree he had decided would do for a "make shift" look out tower without drawing attention to himself, he started playing around with the app. he had downloaded into his suit to see what he could do with it. Thus far he had managed to decipher all the script and pull apart the different electronic components until the original app. was only a series of java code deeming the app. unrecognizable to any who were unfamiliar to programing.

Boredom never sat well the Tony; this time was no different. However, it didn't last long, for when Stark had completely dismembered the program the thing he had been waiting for happened.

"Finally, some excitement." Tony started to say before silencing himself as a figure emerged from out from between the trees.

The figure was tall and lengthy, with a walk that seemed more like a proud strut even through the brambles down below. Tony couldn't quite get an adequate look at the figure to determine whether or not he knew them or not. But as they passed into the light at the edge of the woods where the trees met a meadow, he noticed the figure was dressed in green and black. Tony didn't think the figure to be much of a threat, but as he watched he noticed it was a man with black hair that fell to his shoulders. The man wore all black - boots, jeans, tight fit leather jacket, and shades - except for his green shirt. _A biker perhaps_, Tony thought amused. _Doing what here exactly?_ Then the man turned and let his eyes trail up the tree to where Tony was seated. The blood drained from Tony's face leaving it chalk white when he saw the man give him a smirk. Tony knew that smirk. Even in the darkness that engulfed the forest, Tony recognized the way the man's lips grew thin across the man's face. The last time he had seen those crazed, crystal, blue eyes he had felt relief as they disappeared along with the Tesseract. He never thought he would ever see them again, but here they were.

Loki let the smirk slide off his face and turning, began to walk across the small meadow. Once he reached the other side, he reentered the forest without even paying a glance over his shoulder to see if Stark was following him. Then it dawned on Tony why he hadn't checked.

_He didn't just know I was here, he knew where I was... Where I am._

New York had been enough for Tony to know what power Loki could wield, he didn't need reminding. Without farther ado, Tony powered up his suit's engines and flew away at full speed headed straight for S.H.I.E.L.D. head quarters.

He never made it.

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Elsewhere, Asgard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

The long walk from the library to the palace would have been too much for an average Midgardian to complete in under 30 minutes, but the golden prince of Asgard arrived in just under 10. The city had been a rushing mass of people going about their daily lives stopping every time they saw the man walking with a purpose in his step. Citizens of Asgard in turn gave a polite bow and smiled to their prince before returning to their tasks. The prince however was in no mood to acknowledge the people's greetings. He had to get to the palace as fast as he could for he had just received news that there was a grave emergency that could only be discussed with the All-Father behind closed doors. Naturally, swiftness was more in the right of priority now, than was courtesy.

At the Prince's arrival, the gates flew open and Thor passed though with a mere nod of gratitude directed toward the guards. What the All-Father had to tell him was unknown, however it seemed like perhaps a spark of excitement would come with it, and the Norns knew he needed a distraction from his sorrows.

Moving through the corridors like a ghost in hasty flight, the prince drew nearer to the thrown room. As he approached he noticed his friends off to the side whispering rather too quickly to pass off as a casual conversation. For half a second Thor contemplated whether to stop and quickly engage with them before passing on, but thought better of it. Instead he marched up to the enormous, gold doors of the thrown room, shoved them open, and with a hopeful air, walked inside.

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Elsewhere, Midgard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

The trees had done well to conceal him as he maneuvered his way through the brushes and brambles of the forest floor. He had sensed the Man of Iron from 50 feet away, yet decided to pay him no heed as the were more important things on the agenda. This world suddenly needed him and he wasn't about to give up this opportunity.

Gracefully passing through an open meadow, Loki reentered the woods and made his way up a steep hill. There was almost nothing that could stop the God of Mischief when he was up to no good, but there was truly nothing in the universe that had been able to stop Loki when he was right about something and went about situations in a less than selfish way. This time he had no plans of being defeated.

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Elsewhere, Asgard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

Thor had stood at the foot of the steps that lead to the All-Father's thrown for a whole of 3 seconds before he gave up on excitement, and gave in to fear. The look on the All-Father's face was the thing that did it. There was nothing but worry set in Odin's one visible eye.

Bowing down on one knee and crossing his arm cross his chest, Thor stared at his father waiting with anxiety to hear as to why he had been summoned. Before the Old king could open his mouth however, Thor noticed that the All-Father's ravens where missing from there unusual places. This was never a good sign.

"Arise my son," Odin offered with wariness in every word.

"What is it Father? Has something gone wrong?" asked Thor, not wanting to hear the answer.

The old man hesitated before replied. "Indeed. I am afraid my son, your brother, has escaped the prisons of Asgard and his whereabouts are unknown. It seems he has found a way to conceal himself from Heimdal's all-seeing eyes. However," again he hesitated before he continued. "We have reason to believe that for whatever reason, Loki as returned to Midgard."

Shock of Loki's escape and then fear of what Loki maybe up to engulfed Thor. The last time Loki was in Midgard, no one had had a happy ending. No one.

"Again you must go after him. Again you must rein him in, but this time you will not be set alone. You may choose a small group of warriors to accompany you on your quest."

Odin paused for a moment before saying, "I would ask that you refrain from letting your mother know of this. I do not want to needlessly cause her worry."

As Thor listened to his father's ever word, he wondered what he would face when he reached Midgard. What destruction had Loki already caused? How much more grief would proceed this new journey? _Why would you do this to yourself, Brother? To us? All of us? _Thor thought to himself. _Why can't things be like before?_ Although the question was genuine, Thor already knew the answer. _Who am I to think these thoughts? Loki will never forgive me of my trespasses I have cruelly done against him. Why should he? I was horrible. My poor, little brother, how could I have done this to you?_

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Elsewhere, Midgard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

Reaching the top of the hill, Loki took a look around. Below him, parked in a clearing, was a large flying vehicle of some kind. The Norse god had no idea what it was called, nor when it would depart, but there was one thing he was sure of. Clearly written of the side of the flying contraption was the inscription: S.H.I.E.L.D.

_Is this their idea of blending in? Mortals do seem to enjoy putting their names on the things they are proud of, don't they? First Stark Tower, now this? It's a wonder they get anything done in their short life span when they are busy claiming and flaunting possessions so very often. Perhaps that's why it took so long to-_

Loki's thoughts cut off when his attention suddenly shifted to the figures clad in black that were approaching the craft. There were only three, however one had a rather petite frame and was had a head full of vibrant, red hair.

Rolling his eyes, Loki waited to see if there were any more of those irksome creatures known as The Avengers hanging around like Stark and Romanoff were. A quiet feeling crept up Loki's skin. Turning very slowly, so as not to be seen or heard, he crouched down and looked up.

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~ Slightly Elsewhere, Midgard ~~~~~~~~~~~_**

Since Loki had been silent and hidden the entire time, Clint Barton hadn't noticed the god directly below him. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent had been studying the area with as much care as possible, yet Loki had gone completely unnoticed. What Agent Barton had seen, was that Natasha and two other agents were headed to the jet, ready for departure.

When one of the agents held an object in the air and flashed a red light twice, letting Barton know it was time. Sliding down the tree, he landed right next to Loki, who hadn't moved an inch. As Clint started for the clearing, he turned around suddenly to look directly at Loki but, due to the lights he had just been looking at, the forest was too dark for him to see the trickster crouching before him. With a furrowed brow, the mortal headed off to the jet at little faster than he had before. Clint hadn't seen anything, but he had a feeling as though he was being watched.

Once he reached the clearing he sprinted on board and took the seat in the back, right next to Agent Romanoff.

"What's wrong," she asked noticing his expression right away.

"Nothing," he replied. "Just a bad feeling about this place. The sooner we leave, the better."

"Don't worry, we'll be out of here in 2 minutes, 23 seconds," Natasha told him with a strange look in her eye that Barton could quite place. "We'll be okay, don't worry."

**_~~~~~~~~~~~ Slightly Elsewhere, Midgard ~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

Loki watched as Agent Barton looked his way, but by the way the mortals eyes weren't focusing on him, he knew he would remain undiscovered by the runt. As soon as Barton jogged away, Loki stood and silently followed him. While Clint ran up the ramp of the jet, Loki went around the side and climbed on to the loaded carrier rack beneath.

As the vehicle lifted from the ground Loki had no trouble holding on even as the wind attempted to knock him off. He might not have the strength of the God of Thunder, but he was still much stronger than the strongest of mortal and this ship had not been made to keep Gods from stowing away.

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Elsewhere, Asgard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

The purpose in the Thunder God's step had dwindled down to size by the time he, Lady Sif, and The Warriors Three made their way down to the half restored Bifrost. They had decided they would make the journey by foot so that they would have time to discuss the situation, however they ended up walking in silence. They all knew what they were going to Midgard to do; there was no use speaking about it. They had be aware of that to begin with, but Thor's friends had known he would want to selfishly - and rightly so - procrastinate fighting his brother again, so they walked.

Upon reaching Heimdal, the Gatekeeper of Asgard, Thor opened his mouth to address him, but the darker man spoke first.

"I am truly sorry to hear of what you must do, especially after having just done it."

"Yes, it is rather... regretful. Good Heimdal-"

"No, I still can not see him," the Gatekeeper cut him off. "Be wary. The Lost Prince of Asgard is more powerful than you have ever seen him. How he came by this power is unknown to me, but know this: He is dangerous, even for you.

"Now, I believe you have procrastinated long enough."

With that Heimdal turned and led them into the mangled Bifrost. Opening the portal to Midgard, the Gatekeeper had one more warning.

"If you find him I shall be unable to see you and therefore unable to help you. From here, you are on your own. My the Norns have mercy on you."

And with that, they were swept away from Asgard and hurtled toward Midgard.

**Thanks for reading, I hope you like it so far, more will come later! Ado!**

**-Lady Spyce**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hey everybody! Sorry for taking so long, here it is! I'm glad ya'll liked the last chapter! Thanks to the... one... reviewer... T.T oh well, maybe there will be more this time! Enjoy!**_

Chapter 2 - There Once was a Thicket

At 231 feet above the ground, Tony Stark could see everything he needed to know. As he flew toward S.H.I.E.L.D. head quarters, he saw what he knew from photographs to be the - or perhaps in this case, a - Bifrost sight. _That's what Point Break called it anyway._ Then something off to Tony's left made a sudden movement in the forest below. _It's probably just a wild animal,_ Stark thought to himself. But when it moved again, Tony slowed down to see what it was.

From a ways off it looked like it could be glowing, whatever **it** was, so of course Stark decided he could handle whatever came his way. Into the line of fire he went, toward the ominous glow.

As he stopped on the ground, everything went silent. All the insects and nocturnal creatures stopped their chatter the very second Tony's feet touched the ground, but the strange light that seemed to come from nowhere still lingered giving the whole experience a twilight zone feeling.

"Okay, eery," he spoke aloud. _Nothing compared to seeing Reindeer Games again, right?_

That's when the light went out.

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Elsewhere, Midgard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

As the jet landed on the helicarrier and it's passengers started to depart, Loki quickly cast himself a spell of perception ensuring that any who looked at him would have their attention drawn away and therefore not see him at all.

Treading as casually as possible, the god followed the four agents across the deck, through the side door, and down a hallway, brushing passed a few workers who were on their way to retrieve the cargo Loki had shared the ride with. His head throbbed a bit at first from the extreme pressure changes on the flight, but it soon passed. _I am not so weak_, Loki thought to himself with a satisfied, tight grin.

At one point the hallway turned slightly to the right, while there laid a great, big room to the left that Loki had never seen. No he had never laid eyes on this place, but he knew immediately where he was. _The control room... if only I had... but no I'm not here to resume my former agenda. Stay focused!_ Loki scolded himself. _This is important, and they need to trust you, which they, of course, _**_don't_**.

The Master of Mischief watched as the agents parted their ways and moved to different parts of the room. Loki considered his options for a moment before deciding to follow Clint. Because of time they had spent together, Loki felt closest to him even though it had been a fake friendship. He wanted to find out what Barton was going to do, but all the while he watched Romanoff on the other side of the room from the corner of his eye. Agent Barton made his way to a ladder and scampered up rather quickly for a mere human. _Of course, not just a _**_mere_**_ human,_ Loki reminded himself. _He is much more than that._

Loki followed clint with both speed and grace reaching the top even before Barton could. Lowering himself to crouch beside Barton, he began to observe.

**_~~~~~~~~~~ Not-really Elsewhere, Midgard ~~~~~~~~~~~_**

Once Clint had reached the top of the room where an over hang had been built for... well mostly for him to have something to climb on, he bent down placing is weight on the balls of his feet. _Agent Barton always does his best work from above,_ Clint remembered someone saying a long time ago. It was true too, he was far better use to S.H.I.E.L.D. up high, than anywhere else, even inside the helicarrier.

As he sat there observing, a strange sensation passed over him. It was the same one from before in the forest when he thought he was being watched. Looking around he tried to spot what could be causing the feeling that was getting worse by the minute. However, nothing presented itself as the cause; everyone was too busy doing their jobs to even notice him. Even Natasha was preoccupied.

At the last second, right before the he couldn't stand the feeling anymore, clint suddenly stood up sending his bow which he had laid beside him to fall from his perch and clatter noisily to the ground. Many of the Agents below stood up, their guns pointed at the place the bow had landed. Everyone was on alert, growing pale in the face; everyone except Barton who had turned an unsightly shade of rose pink. The question as to what had happened came out of Director Fury's mouth as he entered the room.

_That's gotta be the sight of the century. Walking calmly into a room only to realize that everyone has their guns pointed at a stick and string on the floor._

It was Agent Romanoff who spoke next. She had realized what had caused the noise, but her expression asked wether to still be on alert or to ease up because it had simply been a mistake.

"Agent Barton? Is everything alright?"

Startled out of his shocked trance, Clint met eyes with her before answering in a false casual tone.

"Yeah, sorry. My foot slipped, sorry for the commotion, I, uh, yeah sorry," Clint stammers over his words before he descended to retrieve his bow.

All the guns in the room lowered with sighs of relief. The last time a ruckus had been made - about 3 years ago now - it was caused by an un-kill-able, un-harm-able, giant, green, gamma ray, rage monster. With no way of being stopped, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had to lure the beast out of the ship to stop him from tearing the place to pieces. As would be expected, a repeat performance was entirely unwelcome.

Clint picked up his bow and strung it over his shoulder as Natasha walked over to him.

"Could I have a quick word, Agent Barton," stated Agent Romanoff pretending it was a question.

"Sure."

Just as she lead him around the corner out into the hallway, Barton gave a quick glance over his shoulder to his perch. Shaking his head, he followed Natasha while a grinning God strutted in pursuit from behind.

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Elsewhere, Midgard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

With a stormy sky and a bright flash of light, the Asgardians suddenly came crashing into the ground. Falling to their hands and knees or rolling on in heaps, they landed more roughly than they had anticipated. Since the Bifrost was barely working, it had given them a worse flight than usual.

Sitting up with a groan, Thor's eyes searched through the dark. The grey images of his friends were barely visible in the early morning light. Glancing around he took note of each of his friends situations with alarm.

Volstagg, being the largest in the group, had crashed straight into the Earth resulting in a old-Saturday-cartoon-body-shaped hole in the ground. The shape of the hole, a giant round middle with limbs spiraled out awkwardly, would have made Thor laugh aloud if the situation hadn't been so serious.

Fandral landed on his hands and knees and then rolled down the hill a few feet. Physically, he didn't look too injured, however, Thor noted, once he saw the state of his hair, he would argue otherwise.

Hogun had curled into a ball upon impact and then flattened himself out to latch on to the ground. He was also the shortest in the group and had obviously landed the lightest. As Thor looked on, Hogun had already started to stand up.

It took longer for Thor to locate Sif. He almost called out for her for fear she was gravely hurt, but then as his eyes searched the forest floor his attention was caught by a movement above him. Sif, with her black hair falling around her face, was hanging with her legs wiggling below her and her arms struggling to get a hold of some branches to pry herself free. It was obvious she didn't want to be seen in the position she was in and was trying her hardest to get down before anyone might notice. It was too late.

Thor couldn't help it. It was a very serious situation on a very serious quest, but Thor let the laugh concealed behind his lips burst out with intense volume. After a few moments all four boys were rolling and howling and running out of breathe. Their injuries and quest forgotten, the Asgardian men could hardly hold themselves together, for Sif's butt was properly stuck in the tree.

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Elsewhere, Midgard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

Loki almost felt odd listening to Barton's and Romanoff's conversation. The Norse God was used to eavesdropping, but it had been a while since he had listened in on a conversation like this one: behind the lines.

Agent Barton stood with his back to the windows and his face turned up toward the ceiling. Agent Romanoff stood with her feet shoulder width apart, with her arms crossed, and her eyes fixed on Barton's face.

"What was that in there? I know you, Clint. That wasn't a random slip. What happened?" There was a brief pause before she added, "You can tell me, what's bothering you?"

"I," started Barton, shaking his head. "I don't really know. I just, I've got this feeling. I can't shake it, and I don't know where it's coming from, but..." his voice trailed off. There was a look in Clint's eyes that Loki recognized with a strange satisfaction. It was almost as if Loki were **proud** of him. All that time they had spent together had stuck with Clint, so although he couldn't see Loki, he remembered his presents.

"I just have this feeling like I'm being watched. It's the same feeling I got before we left last night. It's like, it's like we were followed."

Although she kept her expression perfectly blank, Loki saw the change in her eyes. A dash of fear mixed with curiosity began to work its way through her retinas. Not even Clint noticed, but Loki knew what to look for, especially since she had tricked him before. Now he knew her face; he knew her **real** face.

"It's probably nothing," she tried to convince Clint. "Just... why don't you go take a rest. I'll bet you're just tried."

"Looking a little rejected, but finding the conclusion logical, Barton nodded and set off down the hall.

For a moment Loki was torn on who he should follow, but then he decided it would be perfectly fascinating to watch Clint when he was alone. Curiosity and the sheer scientist in him could not be stopped. And so he followed Clint down to his sleeping quarters.

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Elsewhere, Midgard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

Once Sif had dislodged her rump from the tree's clutches, she promptly - to be in Midgardian terms - beat the living shit out of each boy in turn. After she had recovered her dignity and finished wiping out any respectability her friends had once possessed, Sif walked off to search the surrounding area. With groans and grunts, the men followed the Lady as she made her way down the hill.

Upon reaching the bottom, the Asgardians froze in their tracks as a noise was heard off in the distance. They could not figure where the sound had originated, nor what it was exactly. All they could do was guess, for the noise had been short lived and hadn't been very loud. If there was one thing they could tell for sure, it was that the sound had been male and probably human. Given the circumstances, Thor was unwelcoming to the thoughts that sprung into his head.

Savagely, Thor and his friends rush through the underbrush until they came to a large thicket. Wether or not the sound had been produced in that general area was unknown, however, Thor, Fandral, and Volstagg wasted no time in cutting through the vines or thorns to search within. While Sif rolled her eyes, hogun closed his eyes briefly and shook his head, the others cut away with vigor.

"What, do you suppose, are you to find within a bushel of branches?"

Sif question didn't phase the boys in the slightest.

"Why, we mean to locate the cry for help, of course," Fandral explained with tone of surprise, but not stopping in his work.

"And what made you to believe you shall find it in there?"

"We'll know once we've found it."

Hogun and Sif shared confused expressions for a moment before shrugging off their concern and joining in the search, but not before Sif gave a glance at Thor and realized the meaning of their unnecessary work.

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Elsewhere, Midgard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

Clint's quarters were only a few hundred feet away when Loki fell to his knees suddenly causing a loud, dull thud. Barton spun around, his eyes searching for the culprit, but to no avail. Loki had grown ridged on the ground while his breathe caught in his throat. An image flashed into his mind. It wasn't a welcomed image and Loki almost called out and tried to leap up from his position. However, the watchful eyes of Agent Barton were enough for Loki to keep his composure and allow himself to slowly raise from the ground and lean himself against the wall to catch his breathe.

As the God tried to shake away the nasty picture in his mind, Clint kept looking, desperate to find the thing that wasn't there. After a few moments, Loki pulled himself together, casting all thought from his mind as focusing his attention on Agent Barton.

Slowly, Clint turned back to his quarters and took the fewest strides he could manage to reach them. Upon a spur of the moment thought, Loki decided not to follow the human just yet. There was something calling his back toward the little red head. _What was it? Red Ledger? Close enough. It was Romanoff... or something of the like. No matter._

However, instead of turning back toward the command deck, Loki hesitated and listened. There was something there, below him, hundreds of miles away in a mesh of brambles and twigs. There were many of them. _At the very least, five. _Loki thought to himself then a moment later his added, _Why would they come? What are they... oh. Ah, no. Please, don't tell me they know already._

"Well, one must act with speed now. This ought to end well," Loki spoke aloud to himself, bringing his hand up to message his temples with his middle finger and thumb.

_To Red ledger first, I think._

The Wordsmith then gracefully waltzed off to the far most South wing of the helicarrier. A damsel there awaited him.

_**Sorry the this chapter's so short! I didn't mean for it to be! sawwy. I hoped you liked it! Stay tuned for more!**_

_**~Lady Spyce**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hey everybody! sorry it took so long to update! I've been busy! I hope you like it! Enjoy!**_

* * *

Chapter 3: The Black Sphere

On a world known only to an extreme few in the nine realms, a strange being sat and watched. The darkness in front of him would seem to be a wide, vast nothingness to others who may come across it. To this being, however, the Void was a map, a story, and a gift giver.

Below the being was a grotesque land filled with odd, skeletal creatures that roamed without order or domain. The Chitauri, as they were called, were savage beasts used only for battle. When they were unneeded, they were left to wonder within the waste of a land they had been born on. Steadily, the Chitauri picked themselves off until only the strongest, most warlike remained. These would be the most useful for the being above.

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Elsewhere, Midgard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

Arrival at the South wing of the helicarrier only took Loki a span of a few short minutes. Once there, he set out examining the area in which he had entered. The room he had come to was large, but not so large as the busy command room. Before him lay an arraignment of shelves and boxes and metal-carrier-like things. Obviously, it was some sort of large storage closet, however, there was something off about it. As the god's eyes scanned the walls, he noticed there were no mortal eye devices (security cameras). Loki had grown accustom to these devices being found just about everywhere, especially in all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s vehicles. So why, here in this room, were there none.

At first he believed it to be some sort of trick to fool people who come to seal items from the room. That didn't seem the case as he couldn't hear the hum of an electric currant.

When he had made his way to the back of the room, he realized why the devices were absent.

There, in the far corner of the room was a spherical, black object about the size of a basket ball. It was not of Mortal make. The object was of the world beyond. It was dangerous and it was here. Somehow, before Loki could have came, it had arrived; it had arrived first. With the wrong assumption, the Sliver-tongue had believed there was time. It wasn't until the arrival of the pathetic Asgardians, that Loki had felt rushed. Now he knew better.

_This is why I was drawn here! This is why..._

Loki's thoughts cut short as he raced to the door. Although the door was wide open, with nothing in sight to stop him, he knew he would be unable to leave, but he attempted to anyway. Flinging himself into the open space of the doorway, The God of Mischief crashed hard into an unseen obstacle. Wracked with horror, Loki watched as his perception spell melted. A sudden searing pain started to climb through his limbs gradually inching toward his center. Bitting his lip and calmly closing his eyes, Loki managed to ignore the pain think though the situation. Anyone could walk past and see him now. Anyone.

This, _must not happen._

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Elsewhere, Midgard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

Sitting alone on his cot, Clint mulled over the events of the day. Although it was a regular occurrence with him, this time seemed particularly hard. Perhaps it was because of the mold on the beard he ate that morning. Or perhaps it was because of how Natasha had looked running through the forest a few hour ago. _Or, ya know, maybe it's 'cause of the nagging feeling in the back of my temple, on the edges of my spine, and the pit of my stomach. Yeah, perhaps it's that,_ Clint thought rolling his eyes. It had, however, dulled quite a bit, as if whatever had been there had walked away.

Suddenly, a strange pull came into Barton's attention. It was subdued enough that he hadn't even noticed it at first. Once he had noticed it, he wasn't sure as to what to do. It was obvious what direction he was being pulled, but why on Earth should he follow it? _It might be something I don't want to see._ This thought was sensible and wise, so of course Clint got up and moved toward the door.

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Elsewhere, Midgard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

**_*Where have all the good men gone, and where are all the gods?_**

**_Where's the streetwise Hercules to fight the rising odds?_**

**_Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?_**

**_Late at night I toss and I turn and I dream of what I need._**

**_I need a hero!_**

**_I'm holding out-*_**

The song broke off as all the electricity on the helicarrier went down. With agility to match a ninja, Agent Romanoff sprung up as the lights went out. Fortunately, it was daylight, however, all of her windows were closed, and it took Natasha a few moments to open them as she stepped over and slid around objects in the training room she had been eating in.

Many times Natasha had been told not to dine in the training rooms, but after time and time again of Romanoff not listening, people finally gave in and let her have her way.

Now she stood waiting for something to happen. The engines had definitely turned off and the enormous propellers that kept the craft airborne had fallen silent. Yet, there was no loss of gravity, no feeling of falling, and no sudden, pending doom presented itself. So what was happening then?

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Elsewhere, Midgard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

After the entire thicket was completely and utterly vanquished up to the point of no regrowth, the Asgardians sat themselves down among the ruins to observe their work.

"What a waste. The life we've destroyed-," Fandral spoke aloud before he could stop himself.

Thor glanced at his friend out of the corner of his eye. Although the thicket hadn't been very large, Thor was exhausted from the emotional beating. Without thinking, he had used the thicket as a way to let out his frustration, anxiety, hurt, and helplessness. He didn't want to admit it, but he truly did feel a bit helpless. Although he couldn't see it, his friends knew what he was feeling, and it scared them. They never had known Thor to be scared before.

_How could Loki do this to his brother? How could he do this to innocent mortals?_ Sif thought to herself. It took her a moment to realize she had whispered it loud enough for her friends including Thor, to hear.

Staring at her with anguish in his eyes, Thor let out a sigh.

"How indeed?" The Golden Prince closed his eyes before continuing. "I am truly sorry my friends, for I am the one who drove him to this. If I had not been so- If I had just- If..." Thor could not finish. What could he say? That Loki would be fine? That Loki wouldn't be so broken? That was obviously not so. The secret of Loki's true heritage would have been found out some day, with Loki's cunning ways, that was for sure.

_But perhaps I could have been there for him. Perhaps he could have been healed._

"Thor," Sif spoke anxiously. "I apologize, I shouldn't have said that. Thor, it's not your fault."

"Oh, but it is. It really is. He was my little brother, the only thing I should have been able to protect and didn't. He needed me when I wasn't there."

"No, Thor, this is Loki's doing! He is to answer for it! You were not there because of what Loki did!"

"That's not true, Sif. I was the one who ignored Loki. I was the one who made him feel less than he was. I was the one who made us all go to Jötunheimr; and if I had not, none of this would be as it is. This is by my doing, and now I have to hurt my brother farther." With his last words, Thor bent his head and furrowed his brow. _How am I ever going to fix this?_

"Really, Thor, it's not so bad," Fandral interjected. "Perhaps while we're here, you can talk some sense into him."

"Yes, perhaps," Thor responded, razing his head, but still holding his worried expression. "Come, we must press on."

And with that, the Asgardians rose and trudged through the rest of the forest.

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Elsewhere, Midgard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

It was an absolute understatement to say that the command room was in utter chaos. In fact, the word "havoc" could hardly cover what Natasha saw before her.

Everyone was rushing about trying to either find the source of the problem, or find a way to fix it. Director Fury stood at the hight of it all barking orders while his eyes flickered back and forth between the skies outside and the doors inside searching for an attack of some sort. While nothing presented itself, the fact that the helicarrier was essentially "out of commission" yet somehow staying airborne kept everyone on guard and waiting for destruction to ensue.

After twenty minutes or so, Director Fury was able to calm everyone down to the point of silence. Standing over them, Fury acted as if this kind of situation happened all the time.

"Do we know what's happened," he asked Agent Hill.

"I regret to say, sir..." Fury watched her closely as she hesitated. "With all the screens down, we have no way of finding the problem from here."

"Then go in groups of three and search the whole craft."

"With respect, sir, that could take hours."

"Then I suggest you get started."

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Elsewhere, Midgard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

Clint didn't walk. He didn't run. He sprinted down the halls in the helicarrier.

**_~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Elsewhere, Midgard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~_**

No one was even able assemble in groups of three before Clint came crashing into the command room with a scream stuck in his throat. While everyone's hands flew to their guns, Clint flew to the Director.

"He's here! He's here! We gotta get out of here! We gotta-" Clint lost his breath while suddenly hunching over and putting his hands on his knees. "He's..."

"Clam down Agent Barton. Who's here?" Fury examined Clint from head to toe. Besides his extreme distress, he seemed uninjured.

"It's him, sir. It's-" Clint cut off, shacking his head quickly several times before trying to continue. However, he was unable to finish as five tall, armor cladded young warriors walked through door.

"Loki's here. isn't he?"

* * *

**_Sorry it was so short! I will try to make the next chapters longer! Remember to review!_**

**_~Lady Spyce_**


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